Compliance

With so many investors burned by the across-the-board dismal performance of 2008 and continued volatility into 2009, more are likely to conduct due diligence on hedge funds and exercise greater market discipline, said speakers at a recent conference hosted by Cayman Islands law firm Walkers.

The Supreme Court decided not to review a 401(k) fee lawsuit against Deere and Fidelity that was dismissed by a U.S. District Court in 2007, and again rebuffed a U.S. Court of Appeals a year ago.

Like any public policy, the Obama administration's proposed bank tax will likely yield some unexpected outcomes.

The Managed Funds Association has formed an alliance with the Connecticut Hedge Fund Association whereby the MFA hopes to further unify and strengthen the hedge fund industry.

WASHINGTON — While much of the industry's attention is centered on congressional efforts to revamp financial services, a proposal from the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision also could significantly rewrite the rules of banking.

Industry watchers' description of the plan to charge a 15-basis-point fee on net liabilities ranged from an annoying, yet manageable, cost to a misguided policy.

With it increasingly likely that a bipartisan reform bill in the Senate would not include an independent, powerful Consumer Financial Protection Agency, lawmakers are exploring alternatives.

After spending the second half of last year exchanging its long-term expansion plans for extra capital, Boston Private Financial Holdings Inc. announced it received approval from the Treasury Department to begin repaying the $154 million in outstanding Series C preferred stock that was issued to the Treasury as part of its Capital Purchase Program.

Tarp, TLGP recipients to pay 15 basis point fee

WASHINGTON — House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank laid out his near-term agenda Wednesday, including a Jan. 22 hearing on executive compensation at financial companies and a Feb. 3 hearing on why banks are not lending more.

WASHINGTON — The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission's first public hearing on Wednesday gave the industry's top leaders an opportunity to express remorse for their role in the collapse of the financial markets but did little to enhance the public's understanding of the meltdown.

Tarp, TLGP Recipients to Pay 15 Bpt Fee

Asset Management Unit will Oversee Investment Advisors

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. unveiled its plans Tuesday to tie bank compensation practices to premium assessments, but the agency's outside directors made it clear they oppose the idea.

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Tuesday that it has filed new charges against Bank of America Corp. for failing to disclose extraordinary financial losses at Merrill Lynch prior to a shareholder vote approving the acquisition of Merrill.

The advisors allegedly overstated the value of two hedge funds by as much as $160 million.

Seven groups representing state securities regulators, investors, and investment advisers are urging leaders of the Senate Banking Committee not to water down language in its draft financial regulatory reform legislation that would require every individual that provides investment advice to be held to a fiduciary duty under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

N.Y. attorney general requests data on compensation practices at eight banks that received Tarp funds

A bank spokesman said the SEC did not find that any specific individual had intentionally misguided investors. So the new charges, if approved by U.S. District Court Judge Rakoff, will be for negligence instead of fraud, the spokesman said.

NEW YORK -- U.S. and international regulators are widely credited with having saved the global economy from plummeting into a second Great Depression, and the fragile, recovering economy can expect to see continued support for much of 2010, experts say.